EDMONTON, Alberta - The words "scary" and "dangerous" were among the words uttered by Avalanche players after the morning skate Wednesday.

They were referring to the injury-ravaged Edmonton Oilers, who have been finding it difficult to score in recent weeks and impossible to win a game.

Suffice to say, the Oilers are due, and that's what worried an Avalanche team that needs to keep winning for any chance of sneaking into the postseason.

The same words likely are to be spoken before the teams meet again here Friday after the Avalanche added to the Oilers' misery with a 5-1 rout before a Fan Appreciation Night sellout crowd of 16,839 at Rexall Place.

"These are the kind of games you worry about because if you drop them, then you know you

really don't have a chance of making the playoffs," Tyler Arnason said after matching a career high with three assists. "We played the game we had to play. We didn't give them a lot of chances in the first two periods, and we buried ours."

The Avalanche, on a 9-0-1 roll, again pulled to four points behind the Calgary Flames in the race for the final Western Conference playoff berth. There are nine games remaining.

The Oilers, who advanced last year to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals, have lost 12 games in a row (0-11-1) and mathematically have been eliminated from the playoffs.

This one was over early.

Ian Laperriere scored the first of his two goals 1:29 into the game, and Joe Sakic followed 2:54 later with his 605th career goal, moving him three behind Dino Ciccarelli for 15th place on the all-time list.

"It was big for us," Laperriere said. "We know how loud the crowd in Edmonton is, and we wanted to make sure we keep them calm by taking the lead.

"It was a great start for our team, but Friday's going to be another battle, and I'm sure they're going to come hard. They have a lot of pride in that locker room. They have a lot of young guys who want to prove themselves, and it's going to be a tough game."

Laperriere, who has scored six of his eight goals during the past 20 games, converted Arnason's no-look pass at 2:22 of the second period, and Arnason slid the puck to John-Michael Liles at the top of the circles for a slap shot and power-play goal at 14:17 that ended Dwayne Roloson's night.

It was the third time this season the Avalanche chased Roloson, who made a number of tough stops among his 18 saves behind the Oilers' leaky defense.

"We didn't want to give them any life," said Andrew Brunette, who had two assists for his fourth two-point game in a row. "That's a scary animal. They're very proud of wearing that jersey, and we know next game they'll come out even harder."

Roloson was replaced Jussi Markkanen, who gave up a goal to Brett Clark at 15:59 of the second period to make it 5-0 but finished with 11 saves.

Avalanche goalie Peter Budaj turned aside 22 shots for his 27th win, 13 more than he posted as a rookie.

"We're still on the outside looking in, so we've got to keep going," he said.

Budaj faced only 13 shots in the first two periods - the Avalanche had 12 in the opening 6 minutes - and lost his shutout bid at 5:33 of the third period when Patrick Thoresen scored a short-handed goal.

"Credit to their team; I don't think they gave up," Budaj said. "We know we can't give them any life, because they're a team that works hard."

Avalanche coach Joel Quenne- ville took his foot off the gas with 4:46 remaining in the game during a five-on-three power play, putting the Brad Richardson-Laperriere-Arnason line on the ice with Liles and Jeff Finger.

Asked if he was thinking hat trick, Laperriere laughed.

"I'm thinking, 'I've got two goals, wow, I got lucky,' " he said.

Quenneville said it was a rare opportunity to get as many players involved as possible.

"You play to win the game, and then, in the third period, we got everybody involved," he said. " 'Lappy' has a couple goals and, hopefully, he gets his third. It's not very often that you get the opportunity to do that."

BAD STREAK: Because the Oilers gained a point in a 3-2 overtime loss Saturday against the St. Louis Blues, the team's 0-11-1 streak officially is a winless streak, not a losing streak. The franchise record for a winless streak is 14 games (10 regulation losses, three overtime losses, one tie) set in 1993-94.

Colorado......2	3	0	-	5
Edmonton......0	0	1	-	1

First period - 1, Col, Laperriere 7 (Arnason), 1:29. 2, Col, Sakic 31 (Brunette), 4:23. Penalties - None.

Second period - 3, Col, Laperriere 8 (Arnason, Richardson), 2:22. 4, Col, Liles 13 (Arnason, Wolski), 14:17 (pp). 5, Col, Clark 9 (Brunette), 15:59. Penalties - Pisani, Edm (slashing), 9:02; Nilsson, Edm (hooking), 13:41; Sauer, Col, (hooking), 19:55.

Third period - 6, Edm, Thoresen 3 (Pisani), 5:33 (sh). Penalties - Stortini, Edm (boarding), 4:15; Laperriere, Col, double minor (roughing, holding), 7:22; Stortini, Edm (roughing), 7:22; Torres, Edm (high-sticking), 8:10; Edm bench, served by Nilsson (too many men), 15:04; Torres, Edm (unsportsmanlike conduct), 15:04.

Shots - Col 17-11-6 - 34. Edm 6-7-10 - 23. Power plays - Col 1 of 6; Edm 0 of 2. Goalies - Col, Budaj 27- 15-5 (23 shots-22 saves). Edm, Roloson 25-32-6 (22-18), Markkanen (14:17 second, 12-11). A - 16,839 (16,839). T - 2:21. Referees - Tom Kowal, Bill McCreary. Linesmen - Lonnie Cameron, Scott Driscoll.

sadowskir@RockyMountainNews.com Avalanche 5, Oilers 1

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